Fresno Criminal Lawyer Blog

A San Francisco-area winemaker is suing his wife, accusing her of getting him drunk on wine so that he could be charged with DUI in San Francisco, San Francisco Weekly reports.

Allegations of DUI in Fresno can be damaging to a person's reputation and can lead to major sanctions, which include jail or prison, fines and fees, alcohol-related education classes and other sanctions. In society, it can lead to a job loss, a damaged reputation in the community, loss of leadership positions and other problems.

That's why fighting the charges with an experienced Fresno DUI lawyer is critical. Many elements of a DUI can be fought in court, including the initial stop made by police, the breath testing used and whether field sobriety tests conducted by the authorities were done properly.

In order for a prosecutor to prove that a person is guilty of driving under the influence in California, the state must show a jury beyond all reasonable doubt that a person was driving a vehicle and that they were under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Breath testing can often be difficult for prosecutors because it has been well documented that these devices can result in inaccurate data because they may not be properly maintained. Many cases have been reviewed or dropped by the state as a result of problems in recent months.

Officers, if not properly trained, can botch field sobriety tests that are given to drivers. They may also not have a reason in the first place to pull over a vehicle. If they violate a driver's rights, the evidence they collect may be tossed out by a judge.

In this case, a civil lawsuit has been filed by a winemaker, alleging that his wife and a private eye conspired to get him drunk and call police after he drove off. The 48-year-old filed a lawsuit recently alleging that the private eye worked with the wife to get him drunk and tip off the police if he tried to drive. The lawsuit alleges that the plan was to give her an upper-hand in the couple's custody battle.

According to the lawsuit, the private eye said the plan was a "dirty DUI." The wife agreed to the conspiracy and paid him $6,600. The man went to a wine bar where he was supposed to meet a reality TV producer who wanted to make a show based on his business. But the "producer" was a person who was part of the scam. The man was fed rounds of drinks.

After leaving the bar, he was immediately pulled over, allegedly without probable cause. The lawsuit states that he drank more at the bar than he normally would have because of the scheme. The wife allegedly then paid an additional $1,500 to have a fake TV crew film at his winery, the publication reports.

According to the lawsuit, the fake TV producer is a former police officer who later admitted to the man he took part in the scheme. A partner of the deputy who made the arrest said the arresting deputy had received several calls from his "PI buddy" on the night in question and he was uncomfortable with the fact that his partner told him they were conducting a dirty DUI.